


L is for Lvalue (Of Variable Assignments)

by Jedi Buttercup (jedibuttercup)



Series: JB's Stargate Soup Recipes [4]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Episode: s07e09 Avenger 2.0, Gen, POV Minor Character, Wordcount: 500-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 10:37:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedibuttercup/pseuds/Jedi%20Buttercup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chloe waits for word from P5S-117.</p>
            </blockquote>





	L is for Lvalue (Of Variable Assignments)

**Author's Note:**

> For SG-1 gen alphabet soup, more introspective shortfic, this time about a very minor SGC character. Trying to sketch Chloe's character out a little bit beyond her crush on Jay Felger.

Jay's real problem, Chloe thought as she waited for word from P5S-117, was that he didn't know his own limitations.

She was probably in the minority opinion on that. General Hammond had made his feelings about Dr. Jay Felger and his record pretty clear over the last few days, and for all that Jay went on and on about unspoken bonds, Colonel O'Neill hadn't seemed much happier with him. He was a screw up, as far as they were concerned, and her position as his assistant wasn't doing _her_ career any favors.

Chloe could see where they were coming from. On paper, two plus two just kept not adding up to four; he was a perpetual OBO error waiting to happen. But paper never conveyed the whole picture. Sure, Jay'd had a little trouble coming up with actual working prototypes for his theories. But the higher-ups had okayed his projects, every time; they wouldn't do that if his ideas didn't hold the seeds of brilliance. Not at the SGC. And he put the work in, day in and day out; he was enthusiastic about what he did, and creative in a way that really appealed to her-- professionally.

If he'd just spent a little more time working out the bugs in the 'photon torpedo' before showing off for Major Carter, Chloe was pretty sure it would have worked. She'd helped him build it, after all; the principles behind it were sound. The tech just hadn't been ready for the power he'd put through it.

She took a deep breath, pulling the Avenger code up on one of the monitors to go through again while she waited. Just in case she'd missed anything the last hundred times or so she'd combed through it. Not because there was anything she could do with it from the SGC, not if Jay was right about the virus embedding itself in the dialing program. But it might be important later to figure out exactly how it had done what it did-- just in case they ever wanted to do it again in future.

Hey, it could happen. At the moment, there were people stranded off world and Earth was separated from most of their allies and resources-- but that might not always be the case. Couldn't throw a perfectly effective solution away just because it _overshot_ the mark, could they? Jay and Major Carter would fix it, and they couldn't fire him after that, surely. As projects went, it was by far his most successful endeavor.

The long strings of variables and function calls scrolling past reminded her of her college days, and Chloe summoned up a wobbly smile. For all she got fed up with Jay mooning after Major Carter, it had been nice to work with the older woman on the programming; she had got her bachelor's at a small private college where she was the _only_ girl to graduate that year in her degree program, and there'd been maybe one or two other girls in each of her hard science classes. It had been kind of a thrill, coding with another woman so very brilliant and talented. Chloe could have talked to her about her hand-built DHD project for _hours_ without getting bored with the topic.

She wouldn't want to be on a team with her full time, though. Major Carter was seriously focused and kind of intimidating to work with. Chloe doubted she meant to be, but it was like she was so used to being the smartest-- and the prettiest, and the deadliest-- person in the room, it cast everyone around her in shade. Which was okay when she was running with the likes of SG-1, saving the planet or even the galaxy every other week, but a little problematic to deal with up close.

Chloe didn't want to be that kind of person, a field operative holding the fates of worlds in her hands. She was perfectly happy to be who she was, a researcher helping another scientist with big dreams who'd never lost his sense of wonder explore theories and technology that the rest of the world wouldn't get to play with for _ages_. So maybe Jay had a tendency to get himself in trouble biting off more than he could chew-- but how many amazing concepts would he have discarded if he _had_ known his own limitations? As soon as he got back-- well, she'd make sure he knew that.

She'd just have to make _really_ sure he didn't arrange for any more demonstrations before she'd checked things over more thoroughly. 

Chloe looked up from her monitor as the gate spun up again, biting her lip.

Just as soon as Jay came back. She couldn't wait to see what idea they were going to work on next.

\---


End file.
